Engine starting mechanism



April 3, .1934. R. P. LANSING ENGINE, STARTING MECHANISM Filed' Aug. 8, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 nventor April 3, 1934. R. P. LANSING 1,953,717

Y ENGINE STARTING MVECHANISN Filed Aug..8. 1929 v 2 Smets-'sheet 2 Patented 'Apr'. 3, 1934 ira sra'rss PATENT oFFicE 1,953,717 ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Raymond P. Lansing, Montclair, N. J., assignor to Eclipse Machine Company, Elmira Heights, N. if., a corporation of New York Application August 8, 1929, Serial No. Siifidi Claims. (Ci. 12B-3179) This invention relates to starting mechanism Referring now to the drawings, wherein like :for internal combustion engines. reference numerals indicate like parts throughout Une of the objects of the invention is to prothe several views, the starting mechanism is prefvide novel engine starting apparatus adapted for erably housed in a sectional casing 6 which may 5 manual actuation which is small, light and combe suitably secured as by means of bolts 7 to the 6u and at the same time rugged and powerful housing of an internal combustion engine to be operation. started, a portion oi said housing indicated at 3. nnother object is to provide a novel hand start- A cranking shaft 9 is rotatably mounted in the ing apparatus for internal combustion engines housing 6 in suitable bearings which, as shown,

lo is adapted for cranking about angularly comprise abushing 10 andaball bearing 11. The 65 related axes and which embodies means for preopposite sides of the inner end of the cranking venting reverse rotation of the cranking shaft to shaft are flattened and the flattened surfaces eX- prevent injury to the operator in case of backre. tend from the inner end of the cranking shaft For claims to this feature, per se, reference is to through the ball bearing 11. A bevel gear 12, for

i5 be had to my copending application Serial No. apurpose hereinafter described,ismounted on the 70 @127,935 filed February 12, 1930. cranking shaft on the outer side of the ball bear- A further object is to provide novel hand starting 11 and has driving engagement with said shaft ing apparatus embodying a manually operable due to its fiat surfaces. On the inner side of said cranking shaft which is drivably connected with ball bearing is a spacing washer 13 adjacent to means for cranking an engine and with a booster .which is mounted a relatively large gear 14 which 'l5 magneto. likewise has driving engagement with said crank- Another object is to provide novel hand starting shaft and constitutes a. portion of a. train of ing apparatus embodying in a self-contained unit reduction gearing for driving a booster magneto, a manually operable means for cranking an engine as described more fully hereinafter. On the inner l and driving a booster magneto, which unit is side of gear 14isa spacing washer 15 and adjacent so adapted for detachably mounting a booster magthereto is a small pinion 16 having driving enneto thereon in driving engagement with said gagement withthe cranking shaft, a nut 17 on driving means. the inner reduced end of said cranking shaft Another object is to provide a hand starting holding the above parts on the shaft in assembled mechanism embodying manually operable driving relation. 86 means and a novel driving coupling whereby a The cranking shaft 9 is drlvably connected,

- booster magneto may be drivably engaged with or preferably through suitable reduction gearing, disengaged from said driving means. with a clutch jaw 18 that is adapted to engage One embodiment of the invention has been a corresponding clutch jaw 19 formed on a. memillustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it ber of an engine tobe started. Inthe form shown, 9o is to be expressly' understoodthat said drawings said reduction gearing is of the planetary type are for purposes of illustration only and are not and accordingly the gear 16 constltutesa sun gear to be construed as a definition of the limits of the which meshes with a plurality of planetary gears, invention, reference being had to the appended preferably three in number, and each correspond- 40 claims for this purpose. ing in form, function and construction to the one 95 In said drawings: shown in section at 20.- Said planetary'gears in Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of one turn mesh witha. stationary internal ring gear 21 embodiment of the invention; v secured to the casing 6 in any suitable manner as Fig. 2 is a detail view of one form of mean by means of bolt.; or studs' 22. A dowel pin 23 for shifting the driven member to engine'cranking preferably extends into the casing 6 and ring gear 100 position; this particular form of shifting means 21 to take up thrust and prevent shearing of being disclosed and claimed inmy copending apscrews 22. Planetary gears 20 are rotatably plication No. 341,145, led February 19, 1929. mounted in any suitable manner on a rotating Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 driving barrel which, as shown, is constituted by of Fig. 1; l a cup-shaped member 24 that is surrounded by a 105 Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of bearing sleeve 25 preferably having a pressed fit Fig. 1; and therewith and is secured tovl base member 26 in Fig. 5 is a detail of a modification of the means any suitable manner as by riveting. lScrews 27 shown in Fig. 2 for shifting the clutch member to are threaded into member 26 and are surrounded cranking position. by Sleeves 28 which are countersunk in said mem- 11o ber. A bushing 28a surrounds sleeve 28 to form a suitable bearing for planetary gear 20. Screws 27 also hold a retaining ring 29 which maintains the planetary gears in operative position.

The rotation of the driving barrel is transmitted, preferably, through a suitable yielding driving connection to the clutch jaw 18 and means are provided for shifting said clutch jaw axially into engagement with the clutch jaw 19 when the driving barrel rotates. y In the form shown, an interiorly threaded nut 30 is positioned within the driving barrel and is drivably connected thereto by means of a friction clutch comprising a plurality of friction disks 31. The cup-shaped member 24 is provided with slots 32 in which a plurality of the disks 31 are splined, the remaining disks being splined tothe outer surface of the nut 30. The splines on the nut 30 are turned outwardly at the outer end of said nut to form lugsV 33 against which is seated a spacing member 34. A spacing member 35 and a plate 36 rest against the innermost friction disk of the clutch, said plate being provided with tongues 37 which engage between the splines on the nut 30. The disks 31 are held in frictional engagement by means of a plurality of coil springs 38, the tension of which may be adjusted by means of a nut 39 threaded on the outer end of the nut 30. A ring 40 provided with studs 41 may be employed to maintain the coil springs 38 in spaced relation around the nut 30.

Suitable means are provided for transmitting the rotation of the nut 39 to the clutch Vjaw 18 and for shifting the latter axially into engagement with the clutch jaw 19. Accordingly a short threaded shaft 42 is positioned in the interiorly threaded nut 30, said shaft being provided on ,its outer end with a stop nut 43 and having its inner end splined to engage a splined hub 44 formed on the clutch jaw 18. The shaft 42 is hollow, and a rod 45 extends therethrough which is provided at its outer end with a head 46. The inner end of said vrod extends through an opening formed in the center of the clutch jaw 18 and carries a nut 47, a coil spring 48 being interposed between the clutch 'jaw 18 and the shaft 42. 'I'he periphery of the clutch jaw is provided with one or more notches 49 (Fig. 2) in which engage lugs 50 formed on a two-part ring 5l. A coil spring 52 surrounds the ring 51 and maintains .the inner surface thereof in frictional en- 1 gagement with a lip 53 formed on an oil sealing gether.

member 54 that is suitably secured to the housy ing. The frictional drag lof the ring 5l tends to 4retard the clutch jaw 18 and the shaft 42 with respect to the nut 30 when the latter rotates and to cause relative rotation therebetween, and the threaded engagement between shaft 42 and nut 30 is such that the shaft then travels to the left, as seen in'Fig. 1, until the stop nut 43 engages a suitable shoulder 55 formed interiorly of the nut 30, whereuponthe shaft and nut rotate to- Movement of the shaft to the left compresses spring 48 which resiliently urges the clutch jaw 18 inwardly or to the left, as se'en in Fig. 1, into engagement with the clutch jaw 19. When the engine starts under its own power, the clutch jaw 19 overruns the jaw 18 and the inclined faces of the jaw teeth are effective to cause the jaw 18 to be moved outwardly or to the right.

It is desirable to. provide means whereby the" cranking shaft 9 may be rotated from different directions, as from the end or side of the starting mechanism, and likewise to prevent reverse rotation of the cranking shaft in order to eliminate injuries to the operator in case of backfire of the engine. In order to crank the starter from one end thereof, the cranking shaft 9 is extended outwardly of the housing and is provided on its outer end with a'member 56 pinned to the shaft at 57 and adapted to receive a hand crank (not shown) In the illustrated embodiment of the invention means are likewise provided for cranking the starter from one side thereof, said means comprising a cranking shaft 58 (Fig. 3) substantially at right angles to the cranking shaft 9 'and mounted in suitable bushings in the housing 6, said shaft having v on its inner end a bevel gear 59 held thereon by a nut 60 and meshing with the bevel gear 12 on the cranking shaft 9. The outer end of the shaft 58 may be provided with a suitable member to receive a cranking handle, such as member 56 on cranking shaft 9, or when not in use may be provided with a nut 61 pinned thereto at 62. In order to prevent injuries from backre, means may be .employed to prevent reverse rotation of either of the cranking shafts, said means preferably comprising suitable ratchet mechanism mounted on either or both of said shafts. In the form shown, an exteriorly splined hub 63 is keyed to the cranking shaft 9 at 64 and is held longitudinally thereof by means of a spacing sleeve 65. A ratchet member 66 is splined to the hub 63 and is resiliently urged into engagement with a cooperating ratchet 67 mounted on the housing 6, a coil spring 68 being interposed Vbetween'ti'ie ratchet member 66 and a spring plate 69 thatis secured to the hub 63 for this purpose. 'Ihe ratchet members permit free rotation 'of either or both cranking shafts in one direction to crank the engine, but in case of backre, both shafts are prevented from rotating in the reverse direction.

In some instances it is desirable to operate a booster magneto from the starter mechanism when the engine is being started, the booster magneto being rotated by the starter cranking shaft at high speed through suitable reduction gearing. A booster magneto '1,0 of any suitable type is shown mounted on a plate 71, preferably formed integrally with the housing 6 and held thereon by suitable means such as a strap '72 passing around the magneto casing and secured at bothv a nut '18 threaded on the end of the shaft. One

or more teeth-'79 formed on said`clutch member are adapted to'engage corresponding notches 80 formed in a clutch member 81 thatis rotatably mounted in the casing 6. yA short shaft 82 is rigidly secured tothe clutch member 8l, preferably extending through and being riveted at 83 to said member. The end 84 of said shaft is seated in a suitable bearing recess formed in the casing 6 andl teeth 85 formed on the shaft mesh with the teeth of gear 14. 'I'he pinion-85 and the gear 14 constitute reduction gearing driven-by the cranking shaft 9 of the starter and housed within the starter casing, to which the shaft '75 of the booster magneto that is detachably mounted on the exterior of said casing may be drivably connected by means of the clutch members 76 and 81.

Fig. 5 illustrates a somewhat modified form of means for automatically shifting the clutch jaw 18 into engagement with the jaw 19 when the starter is cranked. In this form, an oil sealing member is provided with a flange 86 constituting an annular friction surface around the clutch jaw18. A cooperating friction surface is formed by a ring 87 which is mounted in spaced relation to the nange 86 by means of a pair of spacing rings 88 and 90, the latter having an outside div' ameter slightly lless than the inside diameter of the ring 488. Ring 90 is frictionally engaged between the friction surfaces 86 and 87, 'said ring being provided with a lug which engages a notch 91 formed in 'the periphery of the clutch jaw 18. The operation of this modication is the same as that of the ring 51, lugs 50 and notches 49 shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: When it is desired to crank an engine, a cranking handle is fitted to the end of the cranking shaft 9, or to cranking shaft 58, and is rotated in the proper direction. The rotation of the cranking shaft 9 which is caused thereby is transmitted through the sun gear 16 and planetary gears 20 to the driving barrel. The interiorly threaded nut or sleeve 30 is;1 likewise rotated through the friction clutch means 31, and owing to the frictional drag of the ring 51, as above described, the relative rotation between nut 30 and shaft 42 causes the latter to move to the left, compressing the spring 48 and yieldingly moving the clutch jaw 18 inwardly into engagement with the clutch jaw 19. In case the engine backres, ,the cranking shaft 9 is prevented from rotating in the reverse direction by the ratchet members 66 and 67,

vbooster magneto thereto.

" `ing for operating the magneto is entirely enclosed within the starter housing and is drivably connected with the magneto shaft by aclutch which extends through the housing. Therefore when the magneto is unnecessary it may be detachedby loosening the strap '32 and disengaging the clutch members 76 and 81, whereupon the entire magneto may be removed. The starter mechanism, however, remains a complete selfcontainedunit, the operation of which is in no way affected by the removal orl attachment of the n Win be obvious that the invention is not nmited to the form shown in the drawings but is ca- The'reduction gearing which drivably connectsthe clutch jaw with the crank and the magneto with the cranking shaft-may. also be substituted pable of a variety of embodiments. For example, any suitable type of magneto may be employed and other forms of clutch mechanism may be substituted for the drving'coupling which connects the magneto shafty with the reduction gearing.

by geen trains of other designs and proportions.

' Likewise either the cranking shaft 58 or the outwardly extending portion of cranking shaft 9 may be omitted where the use to which the starter is to be put' requires only one of them, and if such is the case the ratchet mechanism may be mounted on either shaft employed. Various other changes may be made in the form, details of construction, and arrangement of theparts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and reference'is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus of the class described comprising in combination a housing having an opening therein and a mounting flange thereon, a cranking shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a clutch member mounted in said housing and adapted to engage and crank a member of an engine to be started, means drivably connecting said clutch inember and cranking shaft, a clutch member rotatably mounted in said opening and constituting a closure therefor, means drivably connecting said last named clutch member and said cranking shaft, a booster magneto mounted on said flange, and a clutch member drivably connected with said magneto and engaging said second named clutch member, said cranking shaft and clutch member being rotatable about axes disposed in a common plane perpendicular to. the plane of said mounting flange.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising lin combination a housing having an opening therein and a mounting flange thereon, a cranking shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a clutch jaw mounted in said-housing and adapted to engage and crank a memberof an engine to be started, means drivably connecting said clutch 'jaw and cranking shaft, a cup rotatably mounted `engaging the notches in the rim of said cup, said cranking shaft and clutch member being-rotatable about axes disposed common plane perpendicular to the plane of vsaid mounting flange.

3. In combination with a housing having a driving shaft extending therefrom, said hous-` ing having an outer surface disposed in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of said shaft, a magneto having a current generating element rotatable about an axis parallel to said plane, means for drivably connecting said. driving shaft and current generating element, and a housing for said magneto, said magneto housing being slidable along said plane surface for' the purpose of adjusting said driving connection.` v

4. In combination with a housing having a driving shaft extending therefrom, said housing having an outer surface disposed in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of said shaft, a magneto having a current generating element rotatable about an axis parallel to said plane, means for drivably connecting said driving shaft and current generating element, a housing for said magneto, said magneto housing beingy .slidable 'alongsaid plane surface for the purpose of adjusting said driving connection, and

- of said housing for adjusted position.

-both said axes of rotation being disposed in a plane perpendicular' to said first named plane, means for drivably connecting said driving shaft and current generating element, a housing for said magneto, said magneto housing being slidable along -said plane surface for the purpose of adjusting said driving connection, and means extending through saidplane surfaced portion holding said magnetovin 7. Incombination with a housing having a driving shaft extending therefrom, said housing having an outer surface disposed'in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of said driving shaft, a magneto having a. current generating element rotatable about an axis parallel to said plane, and means including a toothed clutch element constituting a part of the closure means for said first named housing, and engageable with a corresponding clutch element adjustably mounted on said current generating element for drivably connecting said shaft and current generating element.

8. In combination with a housing having a driving shaft extending therefrom, said housing having an outer. surface disposed in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of saiddriving shaft, a magneto having a current generating shaft rotatable about an axis parallel to said plane, means including a toothed clutch element constituting a part of the closure means for said first named housing, and engageable with a corresponding clutch element on said magneto shaft for drivably -connecting 'said shafts, and means extending through said plane surfaced portion of said housing for holding said magneto in position to maintain said clutch elements engaged.

' RAYMOND P. LANSING. 

